Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29132 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 146(@200wpm)___ 117(@250wpm)___ 97(@300wpm)
Noah lifted his eyes skyward. “She is, Mom. But that’s not the reason I asked her out. There was just this…connection. At least for me. It was wild; I felt like I had to run after her before she got away. I’ve never felt anything like that before.”
Paula murmured thoughtfully. “Well, you know the story your dad used to tell about how we met. I thought we were friends for years before we decided to date, but he swore he knew the minute he laid eyes on me that I was the girl he was going to marry. He used to say it just hit him. Like a pie to the face.”
“Sweet and messy,” Noah said, finishing the story with a sad smile.
He missed his dad every day, but he hadn’t longed for his father’s advice this much since the days when he was fighting his battle with cancer and wondering how Hank had managed to stay so centered during his own fight. Hank had handled every stage of his illness with strength and grace—even saying goodbye. His father had been a warm, loving, compassionate, love and faith-driven man. He had also been a mathematician who trafficked in logic and formulas.
If he had believed in love at first sight, who was to say it didn’t exist?
No sooner had the thought drifted through his head than his mother brought him back down to earth. “But if he’d told me that the first day of chemistry class junior year I would have thought he was out of his damned mind. No matter what kind of connection you feel with this girl, you need to make your decision from a logical place, not a mystical one.”
“I know,” he said. “I just didn’t think it would be this hard to say no.”
“Hang in there, honey. You’re your father’s son. Strong and stubborn, but one of the kindest people I know. Trust yourself and you’ll find a way to let her down easy.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Noah said, hoping she was right. The last thing he wanted to do was cause Yasmin any more pain. She’d clearly had enough of that in her life already.
Rolling the thought around in his mind, he told his mother goodbye and went to fetch his order from the pick-up window.
There was something there, something that kept his thoughts racing until the moment he stepped out of his borrowed truck to see Yasmin standing in front of the clothing store and his mind went completely blank.
She was wearing a long, slinky green dress, gold bracelets around her upper arm, and feather earrings that fluttered in the evening breeze. The setting sun caught her hair, bringing out highlights he hadn’t noticed before and warming her pale skin. Her makeup accentuated the natural angle of her eyes, making her look vaguely cat-like and sexy as hell. And then her gaze shifted, meeting his across the road, and his breath whooshed from his lungs.
Gone was the anxious woman from this morning. In her place was a vixen who knew exactly what kind of effect she had on a man, this man in particular. She ran a hand through her hair and smiled, the kind of smile that said she was ready for anything and hoping anything would be a little bit naughty.
Noah lifted a hand her way before turning to grab the picnic basket and blanket Bruce had loaned him from the bed of the truck, wondering who was the real Yasmin—the scared woman who had locked away her heart or this firecracker waiting for him with a come-and-get-me look in her eyes.
Ready or not, he figured he was about to find out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Yasmin
Yasmin watched Noah cross the street and shivered in anticipation.
She’d spent the first few hours after their botched meeting this morning pacing the farmhouse and fretting. But by the time she’d headed back to town to help her mother with the petting zoo, anxiety had turned to frustration with the shitty nature of her luck. As the day wore away, frustration turned to anger, anger to rage, and rage to a burning case of Fuck-it-All-itis.
If her plans were going down in flames, this girl was going to enjoy the ride.
“Hey,” Noah said, eyes narrowing on her face as he stepped onto the curb beside her. “You look amazing.”
“It’s the makeup,” she said, smiling without worrying if it was too flirty or not. “I wasn’t wearing any before.”
God, it felt so good just to be herself. To let go and stop worrying and second guessing her instincts and trying so hard to be something that she wasn’t. At least for the night.
“No, it’s not the makeup.” Noah shook his head. “It’s just…you.” His gaze skimmed up and down her again. “And that dress. I’m not sure I’m worthy to be your date, Miss North. I should have kept my other clothes on.”